Chapter 718: Jacqueline Spann’s Intentions

While other families had lively New Year’s Day celebrations with guests visiting, Ethan Hawthorne’s home was completely quiet. It wasn’t that he had no friends, but rather that he didn’t allow visitors. Now was not the time for making a wide circle of friends.

After breakfast, Ethan Hawthorne went into his study and hadn’t come out by noon. Jacqueline Spann helped Bernice prepare lunch, her heart pounding with anxiety. Ever since she had arrived, Uncle Ethan hadn’t looked happy once. She worried he despised her.

"Auntie, does Uncle Ethan not like me?" Jacqueline Spann couldn’t help but ask.

Bernice, who was julienning ginger, glanced at her and said with a smile, "No, that’s just how he is. He rarely smiles. If he didn’t like you, he wouldn’t have let you stay here."

Jacqueline Spann breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart was still heavy. She wanted more than just to be liked. Over the past few days, she had been observing. Ethan Hawthorne wasn’t young, but he had no family of his own. Although he lived with her aunt, they weren’t married. An idea began to form in Jacqueline’s mind. ’It would be perfect if Uncle Ethan married Auntie and then adopted me as his daughter.’

"Auntie, when are you and Uncle Ethan getting married?"

Jacqueline Spann asked with feigned innocence. In front of Ethan Hawthorne, she was careful to strike a delicate balance. She couldn’t act too mature, nor could she be too naive. She had to make him see her as a pitiful child forced to grow up too soon, yet one who still retained a child’s innocence deep down.

Jacqueline Spann didn’t actually understand these principles consciously. She just felt this was the way to make Ethan Hawthorne see her in a different light. It could only be said that she was a genius at reading people, born with a natural talent for divining their thoughts. Ethan did indeed appreciate her blend of maturity and innocence, but that was as far as it went.

Ethan Hawthorne wasn’t a man who particularly liked children. His mind was entirely on his career; everything else could be set aside.

Bernice’s hand paused for a moment. She let out a soft sigh and resumed julienning the ginger. The pale yellow strands were as fine as hairs. She minced the garlic, then placed the ginger and garlic into a small bowl for the dipping sauce, adding some vinegar and light soy sauce. She set it aside for the crabs they would be eating later.

"Don’t ask about these things in front of Uncle Ethan in the future."

Bernice warned her. Jacqueline Spann nodded, but she had other ideas. ’I have to make this marriage happen between Auntie and Uncle Ethan. Otherwise, living here feels so precarious. We’re not quite relatives, and there’s no official status. I really don’t understand what Uncle Ethan is thinking. He’s been with Auntie for so many years, why won’t he marry her?’

"Auntie, Uncle Ethan will marry you, right?" Jacqueline Spann asked again. Fearing Bernice would get angry, she quickly added, "Grandma told me to ask. She said you’re not getting any younger."

Bernice shot her a look. "Don’t listen to your grandma. My affairs are none of her business. Go and slice that pork loin."

Although she appeared calm, a sharp pain pierced Bernice’s heart. Of course she wanted to get married. But Ethan Hawthorne still had a wife and child. As long as that woman was alive, she could never marry him.

’Those good-for-nothing fools took my money and did nothing!’ she fumed internally. They’d been searching for so long and still hadn’t found Rosalind Green and her child. And then there was the Seven Snow Ointment. She had thought there was a lead, but all they found was an old clerk who used to work at the Xavier family’s pharmacy. The man had no idea how to make Seven Snow Ointment.

However, the clerk did provide a clue, saying that Old Mrs. Xavier knew the formula. The problem was, the clerk didn’t know her specific address. Bernice would have to inquire further. She didn’t even know if this Old Mrs. Xavier was still alive. Given the Xavier family’s situation, they must have had a hard time over the years. The possibility that she was already dead was extremely high.